George Lucas has made no bones about the fact that Hollywood studios were not too keen on releasing his self-financed, big budget film about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American fighter pilots in the U.S. armed forces who flew and fought in World War II. The film, which has been 23 years in the making, is finally having its big red carpet premiere tonight in New York in advance of its Jan. 20 release in theaters. But you can watch seven minutes of clips from the film – which includes stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard – below: